Gross domestic product probably grew at a 3.2 percent annualrate, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

While that would be a slowdown from the third-quarter'sbrisk 4.1 percent pace, it would be a far stronger performancethan earlier anticipated, and welcome news in light of the dragfrom October's partial government shutdown and a likely muchsmaller contribution to growth from a restocking by businesses.

"It looks like the economy was firing on a lot of cylindersin the fourth quarter," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQEconomics in New York.

Earlier in the quarter many economists were anticipating agrowth pace below 2 percent given that an inventory surgeaccounted for much of the increase in the July-September period.

"We are more than four-and-a-half years into the recovery.Its death has been called a thousand times, it hasn't happened.It comes to a point where people go back to more normalbehavior," said Ryding.

If economists' fourth-quarter estimates are correct, growthover the second half of the year would come in at a 3.7 percentpace, up sharply from 1.8 percent in the first six months andwell above the 2.2 percent average since the recovery started inmid-2009.

Consumer spending is expected to be the main driver offourth-quarter growth, but other segments of the economy such astrade and business investment are also seen lending a hand.

The Commerce Department will release its advancefourth-quarter GDP report at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) on Thursday, aday after the Federal Reserve said "growth in economic activitypicked up in recent quarters."

The Fed on Wednesday announced another reduction to itsmonthly bond purchases and appeared to shrug off a surprisesharp slowdown in job growth in December.

Consumer spending is forecast rising at a pace as fast as 4percent, which would be the strongest in three years. Consumerspending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S.economic activity, advanced at a 2 percent pace in the thirdquarter.

ROBUST FINAL DEMAND

The sturdy increase in final demand should put the economyon a stronger growth path this year. However, a lack of wagegrowth could take some edge off consumer spending early in the year.

A feared inventory correction, which did not materialize inthe fourth quarter, is now likely to show up in the first threemonths of the year and weigh on growth, economists said.

In addition, business investment is expected to moderate,given a surprise tumble in orders for capital goods excludingdefense and aircraft in December.

Despite that drop, business spending on equipment likelyaccelerated in the fourth quarter after rising at only a 0.2percent pace in the prior three months.

"We are not completely out of the woods. We would reallylike to see stronger wage growth and corporate investment beforedeclaring full 'escape velocity'," said Thomas Costerg, a U.S.economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York.

Even so, a lessening of the fiscal austerity that grippedWashington last year should keep the economy on a firmer growthpath. Growth for the whole of this year is forecast at 2.9percent, up from last year's estimated 1.9 percent.

Wage growth has been stagnant as the economy deals withslack in the labor market. Sluggish wages likely kept inflationpressures benign in the fourth quarter. A price index in the GDPreport is expected to have risen at a 0.7 percent rate,decelerating from the third-quarter's 1.9 percent pace.

A core measure that strips out food and energy costs likelyrose at a 1.1 percent rate after increasing at a 1.4 percentpace in the July-September period.

The economy in the last quarter also likely got a boost fromexports, thanks to firmer global growth. That, together withdeclining petroleum imports likely narrowed the trade deficit.

Some slowing is expected in the growth of business spendingon nonresidential structures in the fourth quarter. A run-up inmortgage rates, which held back home sales and renovations,could see residential investment falling for the first timesince the third quarter of 2010.

Government spending probably contracted, reflecting a 16-daypartial shutdown of the federal government in October.